Welcome to Red Fountain
by MissElizabethPendragon
Summary: EDITED! This is a prequel to Hot Mess. The story of how Riven came to be at Red Fountain. I like it. R&R. "Your movements are crude and your footwork is shoddy but we can fix that." "Well, Ahna, your brother is quite brave."


A/N: This is my baby. I've spent loads of time on it and I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out. It was requested by **cartoonloverandanime**. I had thought about it before but for some reason I never thought it would be worth it but once it was requested it wouldn't stay out of my head so here it is. Sorry if the action sequence sucks. I tried to base it on something Jason Statham would do in a movie but I failed. Enjoy!

**XXXXX**

Riven walked through the aisles admiring the craftsmanship of the desks. He wasn't actually interested but it comforted the employee down the aisle. After she left, he stuck the necklace deep in his pocket while making sure no one was looking. He began walking down the aisle and bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir." He turned to look at the brunette giant of a man, flashing him a smile that always made people believe that he was a perfect gentleman.

The man grunted, "No harm, no foul." and walked away.

Riven reached into his pocket and pulled out the black wallet he had just snatched. He smirked, the guy only had 5 jewels. "Well, Mr. Codatorta, thank you for the drink." He threw it in a near by trash bin and walked out of the store, stopping at the soda machine to grab a large water.

When two employees emerged from the store he made himself scarce. He only had three blocks to walk before turning into an alley. He creeped up to the trash bin and peeked around the side. When he noticed the girl was still sleeping he sat down beside her to shake her awake. "Come on Ahna. It's your birthday."

The girl sat up and looked around before stretching. "Morning 'Iven." Her smile grew when she saw the water in his hand. "My birthday present?"

Riven laughed. "Half of it. You get a drink for every year you've been alive. That makes eight, right?"

The girl nodded her head excitedly, making Riven's smile grow.

He handed her the water and watched as she carefully counted out the drinks. He pinched the skin on his arm and when it snapped back and went back to the right shade he looked at her again.

Ahna held the bottle out for her older brother. He took two swigs of the liquid and handed it back to her. "You can have the rest. I should be good for another few days." The girl looked skeptical but drank anyway.

When she finished she threw the bottle over the lid of the bin and smiled. "Now where's the rest of it?"

Riven looked confused. "The rest of what?"

"My birthday present silly! You said that was only half of it." Her eyes sparkled more than they had in a while.

He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and she squealed in delight. He let her rip it out of his hand and put it on running her fingers over the Princess design.

She leaped forward and hugged him. "Oh thank you 'Iven! It's the best!"

Riven smiled and looked down the alley. The squeal had attracted some attention. The cops would be called soon to investigate. They'd take Ahna away from him if they were caught. She was all he had left. He allowed himself a moment to remember his past. His mother had left when he was six, leaving a newborn Ahna behind. Two years later he had come home from school to find his father hanging from the ceiling fan with Ahna crying in a corner. He hated his mother but he hated his father more. He had been weak and he would be damned if he ended up that way. He had sworn he'd never fall in love that day.

"Okay Ahna, we have to go."

Ahna looked at him curiously. "Where? Ooh, is it a surprise?"

"No. We're just going to the park for the day. A sort of party with just us." Riven gave her a goofy grin.

She squealed again and allowed herself to be pulled away.

**XXXXX**

Ahna laughed as the swing got higher and higher. She enjoyed it because for that small moment when she was between rising and falling she was free. Free to be a child, free to laugh, free. Riven had raised her and he had looked out for her. He had taught her how to survive and to steal only when necessary. He had taught her that she should fight for someone else but to let it go when it was for her. He had taught her to enjoy these small moments of freedom and to remember them. For kids on the streets, they didn't come often. They were constantly running or hiding. She had realized when she was five that she had to grow up fast so when she had this moment, she treasured it. Maybe when Riven was older it would be different and she could be a kid then. She looked up at the sky and then back down she went.

She couldn't figure out why Riven hadn't caught her this time. She turned to see him staring at some guys in the distance. She noticed he was alert now. She looked back over to them. "'Iven, let's go."

Riven had noticed that the men on the other side of the bridge were surrounding an elderly man. He couldn't sit there and let something like this go down. The Black Scorpions were an international crime organization. Getting mixed up with them was a bad idea but this man was old. He couldn't protect himself and Riven couldn't live with himself if he didn't do something. He looked back to his sister. "Ahna, I want you to hide in the bushes over there. Don't come out until I call for you."

Ahna knew what he was doing. "No Riven. Don't do it, don't be a hero." She was clinging to him and crying. She knew who those guys were by the scorpions running down their arms. If Riven went over there, he'd be killed.

Riven knelt down beside her. "I have to Ahna. Go."

Ahna nodded and ran for the bushes, wiping away her tears. She had to be strong.

Riven walked over to the group just as one of the men pulled out a knife. Riven kicked it out of his hand before dropping and swinging his leg under the guy. Another ran up behind him and he ducked before turning and kicking the guy in the chest, knocking down two guys behind him. Another ran at him with a knife. Riven flipped backwards onto his hands and grabbed the girl's arm between his legs and flipped her over. He kicked another in the head when he went down, hard enough to render the man unconscious. One of the men grabbed his jacket sleeves and Riven ran forward grabbing the sides of his jacket to control the movement, wrapping up the man's arms. When another jumped for him he kicked a leg up and then over to another that had been approaching before taking the man wrapped in the jacket and swinging him into a light post. Swinging his jacket back on he flipped to the left to avoid the woman swinging at him with her knife before ripping it from her hand and elbowing her in the head. He looked over to the old man who was now being held around the neck with a gun to his head. Riven stopped.

He looked around. He was the only one left standing. He looked back to the man with the gun. He had to get it away from him. The elderly man raised his gold staff and hit the man in the face with the jewel hard enough to make him let the man go. Seeing his opening, Riven ran forward and flipped backward kicking the man under the chin forcing him off his feet. His head hit the pavement hard and his eyes rolled back in his head. Riven walked forward, removed the bullets from the gun and threw it in a trash can nearby.

He walked back to the elderly man. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Oh, I'm fine. That was incredible, a bit crude but you've got talent nonetheless." The man reinstalled the jewel in his staff. It had fallen out when he hit the man. He'd have to get it fixed when he got back.

Riven shrugged. "Well, when you grow up on the streets you learn to defend yourself." He looked toward the bushes where Ahna had her head poking out. He waved her over.

Saladin watched the little girl run over to the teen. "Don't do that again 'Iven." she said crying.

Riven looked to where a brunette man had just arrived on the scene.

The man sighed and waved his hand through his hair. "Did I really miss it?"

Riven recognized him. He had stolen his wallet this morning.

Saladin looked at the boy. "Can I ask your name? I'm assuming it's not really 'Iven." He smiled.

"I'm Riven." He shook the man's hand. "And this is my little sister Ahna." She shook his hand too.

"Well, Ahna, your brother is quite brave." He looked back up to Riven. "Your work is crude and your footwork is shoddy but we can fix that. The streets is no place for a little girl. How would you like to come to Red Fountain on a full ride scholarship? You'll have your own dorm room with two beds so she can share a room with you."

Riven stared and Codatorta blanched. "He stole my wallet!"

Saladin looked at him. "Your wallet? But no one steals your wallet." He looked back toward Riven. "You're a skilled thief too?"

Riven shrugged again. "I do my fair share. I have to feed us."

Saladin laughed. "Well, if you promise to use those skills for good from now on, you'll be more than welcome in my halls. My name is Rubius Saladin. I'm the headmaster at Red Fountain School for Heroics in Bravery and you, Riven, have a great future ahead of you."

Riven considered it for a moment. "Ahna can come too?"

Saladin nodded.

"Alright, I'm in."

XXXXX

5 months later

Riven walked into his new dorm holding his little sister's hand. It was bigger than he thought it'd be. The whole place was. Saladin had been kind enough to allow Ahna to come too and he had bought her some toys to play with so she could be a kid and had also taken the liberty of enrolling her in a school not far from the campus. Since she had fae blood in her, he had also guaranteed her acceptance into Alfea School for Fairies when she turned sixteen.

The three boys sitting on the couches looked up when they heard the door shut and came to greet their new dorm mates. "Hi, I'm Brandon" said the blonde. He pointed to the brunette who shook Riven's hand. "This is Prince Sky."

Sky leaned down to look Ahna in the eyes. "I've been checking out some of these new toys Ahna and let me say, they are pretty fun. I'm looking forward to our future tea parties." He winked at her and handed her a stuffed bear.

The blonde pointed to the red head in glasses. "And last but not least, this is Timmy." Timmy waved from the computer desk.

The brunette sighed. "He's doing all his homework for the next three months. So, Riven, Ahna, welcome to Red Fountain."


End file.
